Boston man wanted for Downtown Crossing shooting held without bail pending dangerousness hearing
BOSTON, July 30, 2026 – A Boston man wanted for a non-fatal shooting on Tremont Street earlier this month has been ordered held without bail pending a dangerous hearing in Dorchester BMC and will face additional charges in BMC Central, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
JOSEPH MATTHIAS, 25, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, firearm violation without one prior violent or drug offense, resisting arrest and receiving stolen property under $1,200.
Judge Jonathan Tynes ordered Matthias held without bail pending a dangerous hearing August 3.
Matthias will be arraigned on a later date in BMC Central for the charges related to the July 9 shooting at 141 Tremont Street in which a man suffered non-life-threatening wounds.
At about 11:50 a.m. on July 28, Boston police officers acted upon an arrest warrant for Matthias for the July shooting. While surveilling Matthias’s last known address, officers saw a male matching Matthias’s description carrying a backpack and two duffle bags. When officers tried to speak with Matthias, he immediately dropped both duffle bags and ran toward Woolson Street. Officers saw Matthias remove his backpack and throw it over a fence into a yard on Woolston Street. After a brief struggle and numerous failed verbal commands, officers were able to place Matthias under arrest. While being arrested Matthias shouted to nearby residents “Yo, get the backpack and run!”
A search of Matthias’s backpack revealed a Beretta USA Corp. 9mm firearm loaded with 8 rounds of ammunition. Personal papers in his name were also in the bag. A serial number search revealed that the firearm had been reported stolen.
Matthias was transported to a local hospital after reporting a potential injury. The arresting officer sustained multiple minor lacerations and was treated by Boston EMS.
“This is an excellent example of diligent detective work leading to the identification and arrest of a person whose actions have impacted the residents and businesses of one of our neighborhoods, in this case the Downtown Crossing area. We know that a small number of offenders can have an outsized impact on quality of life in our neighborhoods. Our goal is to hold those individuals accountable for their actions,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Our office handles more than 20,000 cases a year. Nearly 160 assistant district attorneys practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Boston and Chelsea Juvenile Courts and the Supreme Judicial Court. Our office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs for anyone encountering the criminal justice system. We are committed to educating the public about our mission and services while focusing on crime prevention to keep the residents, workers and visitors of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications